Automobile door hinge embodying hold-open means



May 31, 1955 A. G. JOHNSON 2,709,275

AUTOMOBILE DOOR HINGE EMBODYING HOLD-OPEN MEANS Filed June 9, 1952 2 Sheets-$heet 1 IN V EN TOR.

Aynar fab/2500 May 31, 1955 A JOHNSON 2,709,275

AUTOMOBILE DOOR HINGE EMBODYING HOLD'OPEN MEANS Filed June 9, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet '2 INVENTOR. Agnar 15/2/7500 Unite States Patent AUTOMOBILE DOOR HINGE EMBODYING HOLD-OPEN MEANS Application June 9, 1952, Serial No. 292,490

3 Claims. (Cl. 16-141) This invention relates to improvements in automobile door hinges and is more particularly concerned with the provision of a novel form of hold-open device designed to prevent accidental closing of the door when it has been opened.

Various designs of hold-open devices have been proposed but many are too complicated and expensive in construction and are not practical for various reasons. It is, therefore, the principal object of my invention to provide a hold-open device of simpler and less expensive construction, and one which is designed to give satisfactory performance throughout the life of the car without ever being apt to require any attention.

In accordance with my invention, a link that is pivotally connected at one end to one of the hinge members radially from the hinge axis base portion on the free end thereof slidable frictionally on the other hinge member between said hinge member and an elongated leaf spring that is secured thereto by its one end portion. The spring is preferably, although not necessarily, confined at its other end in its movement relative to said hinge member, and has a detent portion formed thereon by a transverse crimp near the attached end into which the link is adapted to engage with snap action of the spring when the door reaches the fully opened position, whereby to lock the hinge members releasably in that position and avoid likelihood ,of the door closing accidentally. The arrangement is such that there is appreciably increased resistance to hinge movement as the door approaches the fully opened position, thereby giving a semi-holdopen action when the door is about two-thirds of the way open, and a lock-up action only when the door is fully opened. The detent portion of the leaf spring is furthermore so constructed that'it cooperates with the link positively to limit the Fig. 4 is a plan view of another type of automobiledoor hinge embodying a hold-open device made in are cordance with my invention, showing the parts in what corresponds to the fully opened position of the door;'

Fig. 5 is a view of Fig. 4 taken from the right, and

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing the pa'rtsin the other extreme position, corresponding to the closed portion of the door.

..'Similar reference numerals are applied to'corresponding parts in these six views.

' Referring .to Figs. '1 to 3, the reference numerals 5' 2,709,275 Patented May 31, 1955 and 6 designate two members of an automobile door hinge, member 5 being the one attached to the body pillar by its shank portion 7 and member 6 being the one attached to the door pillar by means of its shank portion 8. A pintle 9 entered in registering holes 10 in a pair of spaced knuckles 11 provided on the outer end of member 5 is received with a working fit in a bearing hole 12 provided in the knuckle 13 that projects from the outer end of member 6 and is received between the knuckles 11 of member 5.. The outerend portion 14 of member 5 is bent-substantially at right angles to offset the knuckles 11 in relation to the attaching shank portion 7, and the members 5 and 6 are there} fore in spaced parallel relation to one another when the door is closed, as illustrated in Fig. 3.

In accordance with my invention, a link indicated generally by the reference numeral 15 is formed from a single length of wire of circular cross-section bent to rectangular form so that the coaxially aligned ends 16 form trunnions for pivotal connection of the link with the inner side of the hinge member 5, a sheet metal strap 17 being riveted to the hinge member 5, as indicated at 18, and crimped intermediate its ends, as indicated at 19, to provide a bearing for the trunnions, 16. The other end 20 of the link provides a cross-bar portion that is parallel to the trunnions 16 and is slidable frictionally on the shank portion 8 of hinge member 6, between the latter and an elongated leaf spring 21, that is fastened to the hinge member 6 by its one end portion 22, as indicated at 23, and is preferably confined at its other end 24 in its movement away from the shank 8 by means of a stud 25 carried on the shank 8 and received loosely in a hole 26 provided in the, end portion of the leaf spring. A transverse crimp 27 is formed in the leaf spring 21 near its attached end 22 to provide a detent portion in which the end 20 of the link is received when the door reaches the fully opened position, as shown in Fig. 1, to lock the door releasably in that position. Next to the crimp 27 is a portion 28 that is parallel to the attached end 22 but closer to the plane of the end portion 22 than the portion 29, whereby to define a narrow throat 30 through which the end portion 20 must pass with increased friction drag before the end portion 20 ofthelink can' enter the detent portion 27. The leaf spring 21 is bent to define an inclined portion 31 next to the throat defining portion 28, and this inclined portion permits the end portion 20 of the link 15 to slide smoothly into the throat 30 as the door approaches the fully opened position.

In operation, when the door is beingopened'there is very little frictional drag noticeable in the first 30 or so' of door opening movement, because in that range the end portion 20 of the link 15 slides betweenthe shank 8 and. the rather easily flexible free end portion 29 of the leaf spring 21. This portion 29, as shown in Fig. 2, is nar-' rower than the rest of the leaf spring to increase the fiexibility thereof. Through the last 30 or so, and particularly in the final 15 of door opening movement, the

friction drag is appreciable, partly because the pressureof the leaf spring increases the closer the portion 20 approaches the riveted end 22 of'th'e'leaf spring, and

partly because the leaf spring is nearly twice as wide in this portion of its length in relation to the portion 29. Furthermore, in the final 15 or so of door opening movement the depressed portion 28 requires greater deflection of the leaf spring forpassage of the portion 20 of the link and consequently'a heavier spring loading is provided: which produces proportionately greater friction drag.

The door is, of course, movable in either direction in this last 30 orso but the friction drag is enough to prevent its closing accidentally. It is only when the portion 20' of link 15 slides into the crimped detent portion 27 that a releasable lockup action is afforded, holding the door firmly enough to require a sudden heavy push or pull on it to overcome the resistance to closing When the portion 20 of link 15 enters the crimped detent portion 27 the door opening movement is positively limited by engage merit of portion 20 with that side of the crimped portion 27 toward the rivet 23.

Referring next'to Figs. 4, 5 and 6, the reference numeral 5 designates the outer cage member of a concealed hinge of more or less conventional design, which is fastened to the body pillar by means of its attaching flanges 7'. A face plate 32 that is welded or otherwise suitably secured to the flanges 7' serves to reinforce the cage member and at the same time improve the appearance of the hinge by concealment of these attaching flanges. The reference numeral 6 designates the inner hinge member of this concealed hinge, which is pivoted between the top and bottom walls 33 and 34 of the cage member on a pintle 9'. The link in this case is U-shaped and straddles the inner end portion of the gooseneck shaped hinge member 6, as shown in Fig. 6, providing the transverse portion adapted to slide relative to the gooseneck shaped inner end of hinge member 6', and providing coaxially aligned but oppositely directed trunnions 16' on the ends of the arms of the U pivotally received in bearing holes 19 provided therefor in the top and bottom walls of the cage member. The elongated leaf spring 21' in this case is bent to arcuate form to conform to the curvature of the gooseneck end of hinge member 6' and is fastened rigidly at one end by two rivets 23' and has a crimped detent portion 27 provided intermediate the ends thereof in which the portion 20' of link 15' is arranged to engage to lock the door releasably in the open position, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The unattached end of the leaf spring 21 may also be confined to limit its deflection away from the hinge member 6' as by means of a stud like that shown at in Figs. 1 to 3. The free end portion 29' is also reduced in width to make it more easily flexible, similarly as the end portion 29 of leaf spring 21 in Figs. 1 to 3.

In operation, the hinge of Figs. 4 to 6 has light friction drag throughout the first 30 or so of door opening movement and increased friction drag through the last 30, and especially during the final 15 of door opening movement, followed by a releasable lock-up action when the door is fully opened, substantially the same as the hinge illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claims have been drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

1. In a hinge comprising a pair of hinge members pivoted relative to one another for relative pivotal movement through a predetermined angularity, the improvement consisting in the provision of an elongated link pivoted at one end on one of said hinge members at a portion spaced radially from the hinge axis and having a cross-bar part on its other end slidable directly on the other hinge member toward and away from the hinge axis in the opening and closing of the hinge members, and an elongated leaf spring which includes a relatively wide and stiffer end portion rigidly secured on the last mentioned hinge member at a portion spaced radially from the hinge axis and having a portion thereof remote from the hinge axis normally disposed in closely spaced parallel relation to said last-mentioned hinge member but adapted to be flexed away from it, and said leaf spring; including a relatively narrow and more readily flexible end portion extending along the hinge member away from said axis normally in parallel relation to said hinge member but less closely spaced in relation thereto than the relatively Wide end portion and adapted to be deflected away from said hinge member, said leaf spring serving to resist sliding movement of the link part by frictionally and resiliently gripping the cross-bar between the last mentioned hinge member and said leaf spring in all positions of the hinge members relative to one another, there being means on the spring carrying hinge member loosely confining the relatively narrow free end portion of said leaf spring allowing only a limited deflection of the leaf spring away from the hinge member.

2. In a hinge comprising a pair of hinge members pivoted relative to one another for relative pivotal movement through a predetermined angularity, the improvement consisting in the provision of an elongated link pivoted at one end on one of said hinge members at a portion spaced radially from the hinge axis and having a crossbar part on its other end slidable directly on the other hinge member toward and away from the hinge axis in the opening and closing of the hinge members, and an elongated leaf spring which includes a relatively wide and stiffer end portion rigidly secured on the last mentioned hinge member at a portion spaced radially from the hinge axis and having a portion thereof remote from the hinge axis normally disposed in closely spaced parallel relation to said last-mentioned hinge member but adapted to be flexed away from it, and said leaf spring including a relatively narrow and more readily flexible end portion extending along the hinge member away from said axis normally in parallel relation to said hinge men1- her but less closely spaced in relation thereto than the relatively wide end portion and adapted to be deflected away from said hinge member, said leaf spring serving to resist sliding movement of the link part by frictionally and resiliently gripping the cross-bar between the last mentioned hinge member and said leaf spring in all positions of the hinge members relative to one another, the

frictional resistance to sliding movement of the link being relatively low in the first portion of opening movement of the hinge members when the cross-bar slides along under the relatively narrow portion of the leaf spring and relatively high in the latter portion of the opening movement when the cross-bar slides along under the relatively wide portion of the leaf spring, said leaf spring having a transverse crimp provided thereon in the relatively wide end portion near the rigidly secured end defining a detent loop portion in which the link part is arranged to engage when the hinge is fully opened, whereby a releasable lockup action is afforded.

3. In a hinge comprising a pair of hinge members pivoted relative to one another for relative pivotal movement through a predetermined angularity, the improvement consisting in the provision of an elongated link pivoted at one end on one of said hinge members at a portion spaced radially from the hinge axis and having a crossbar part on its other end slidable directly on the other hinge member toward and away from the hinge axis in'the opening and closing of the hinge members, and an elongated leaf spring which includes a relatively wide and stiffer end portion rigidly secured on the last mentioned hinge member at a portion spaced radially from the hinge axis and having a portion thereof remote from the hinge axis normally disposed in closely spaced parallel relation to said last-mentioned hinge member but adapted to be flexed away from it, and said leaf spring including a relatively narrow and more readily flexible end portion extending along the hinge member away from said axis normally in parallel relation to said hinge member but less closely spaced in relation thereto than the relatively wide end portion and adapted to be deflected away from said hinge member, said leaf spring serving to resist sliding movement of the link part by frictionally and resiliently gripping the cross-bar between the last mentioned hinge member and said leaf spring in all positions of the hinge members relative to one another, the frictional resistance to sliding movement of the link being relatively low in the first portion of opening movement of the hinge members when the cross-bar slides along under the relatively narrow portion of the leaf spring and relatively high in axis positively limiting door opening movement in the the latter portion of the opening movement when the fully opened position of the hinge members.

cross-bar slides along under the relatively wide portion of the leaf spring, said leaf spring having a transverse Rbferemes in the me Of this Patent crimp provided thereon in the relatively wide end portion 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS near the rigidly secured end defining a detent loop portion in which the link part is arranged to engage when the 35;; 33%; hinge is fully opened, whereby a releasable lockup action g is aflorded the crimp being formed so as to define a posi- 1532239 Fauser 1925 1,942,860 Hummert Jan. 9, 1934 tive stop for the link part on that side toward the hinge 10 

